GE Wins Multi-Year Extension for T700 Engine Family

August 25/16: The US Army awarded a series of contracts as part of the preliminary design review for the replacement of General Electric’s T700 engine. General Electric and Advanced Turbine Engine were awarded $102 million and $154 million contracts respectively, with the winner getting to provide engines for a wide variety of military helicopters including the UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64E Apache. The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) plans to deliver an engine early in the next decade that will replace the T700 with a new design that delivers more power and consumes less fuel, yet fits into the same space reserved for current engines. .

Keep reading for the whole story with recent events put in context

T700 engine
(click to view full)

GE’s T700 family powers a number of helicopters, from Army UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters to the USAF’s HH-60 Pave Hawks, naval SH/MH-60 Seahawks, and even the US Marines’ H-1 Hueys and AH-1 Cobras.

In 2004, the US military placed a multi-year production contract to cover engines and spares for its H-60 family helicopters, covering up to 1,200 engines. That contract has now been extended to cover up to 4,900 T700-401C (Coast Guard HH-60J, Navy SH-60/MH-60 Seahawks), T700-701D (UH-60A/L/ early-build M), and T700-701E (new UH-60M) engines for the US Army and Navy through 2014. Each helicopter requires 2 engines…

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Contracts and Key Events

MH-60S, giving a lift(click to view full)

August 25/16: The US Army awarded a series of contracts as part of the preliminary design review for the replacement of General Electric’s T700 engine. General Electric and Advanced Turbine Engine were awarded $102 million and $154 million contracts respectively, with the winner getting to provide engines for a wide variety of military helicopters including the UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64E Apache. The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) plans to deliver an engine early in the next decade that will replace the T700 with a new design that delivers more power and consumes less fuel, yet fits into the same space reserved for current engines.

September 29/15: The Army has launched its T700 engine replacement competition, with the program set to deliver 3,000 new helicopter engines after production begins in 2019. Two companies will be awarded development contracts for the new engine design, with GE Aviation and a Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney team appearing as the most likely candidates, although Turbomeca could also participate in the competition.

May 11/15: General Electric Aviation was awarded a $2 billion IDIQ contract Friday in part to fulfill a Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan for the company’s T700 engine, with the contract stretching to 2020. The T700 engine family powers a number of US-manufactured helicopters, including the UH-60 Black Hawk, which Taiwan purchased 60 of in 2010. GE Aviation is not unaccustomed to significant contracts, with the company awarded a major multi-year contract extension in 2009. Friday’s contract covers not only the Taiwanese FMS but also US defense and other government agency requirements.

April 14/09:GE announces the 5-year extension of its contract for H-60 family engines, which adds up to 3,700 more engines to the contract.

Under this arrangement, GE will provide new engines to upgrade existing helicopters, and also ship engines for Sikorsky’s manufacturing lines. These order covers T700 series engines for the US Army (UH-60), Navy (SH/MH-60), Coast Guard (HH-60), and foreign military sales (other mentioned, plus S-70). A portion of these engines will also serve as spares for aircraft currently operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their release notes that 3 more orders have been received since September 2008 for a total of 211 more engines, to be delivered between 2009-2011. According to GE, this brings the total number of engines ordered under this contract to 1,704.

Price is not specified, but it’s a firm-fixed price contract, and 293 engines cost $96.2 million (about $328,000 each). As such, the cost if all 3,700 extra engines are awarded would be about $1.215 billion.

Sept 11/08: General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA received a $96.2 million order for 293 engines, as part of a 5-year firm-fixed-price contract extension. Deliveries will take place in Q4 2008 and Q1 2009.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA, with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/14. Since GE is the designated engine manufacturer for H-60 helicopters, one bid was solicited and one bid was received by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile command (AMCOM) in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-04-D-0037).

Jan 15/04: General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn, MA received an $824 million firm-fixed-price, 5-year contract for T700 series helicopter engines to equip US Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and foreign sales H-60 family helicopters.

They also receive the first deliver order: $22.75 million for 74 T700-701C spare engines (incomplete without hydro mechanical control units and digital electronic control units) and 74 containers.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA, and is expected to be complete by Dec 31/09. since the T700 family are the only engines certified for the H-60 helicopters, this was a sole source contract initiated on June 11/02 by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-04-D-0037).